


The Truth of the Matter

by Somedrunkpirate



Category: Inception (2010)
Genre: Introspection, M/M, POV Eames, Pining
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-06-16
Updated: 2017-06-16
Packaged: 2018-11-14 19:22:28
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 923
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11214618
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Somedrunkpirate/pseuds/Somedrunkpirate
Summary: People taking him with a grain of salt is normally a favorable thing. But in this case, it really isn't.





	The Truth of the Matter

**Author's Note:**

> A ficlet that has been hanging around for a month waiting on continuation.
> 
> I eventually decided to post it as is because it apparently doesn't want to be a longer fic. I do still really love some of the sentences in this little thing and hope you guys will like them too :)

 

There is nothing more vulnerable, more naked, than being figured out. To have someone see through layers of protection and distraction, right into one’s core, and understand what it hides.

Eames makes it his business, and his armor.

As someone who hides everything and nothing at once, Eames becomes extremely unpredictable. No one, not ever, can figure Eames out, truly.

The flip side to this lives in two parts.

One, people have the annoying tendency to take everything he says either too seriously or not seriously enough. What side they pick depends on the person, but it’s always one of these extremes. It’s rare to meet a person who judges what he says individually, who accepts or disregards statements based on their content, instead of labeling all of it void or holy truth.

The second thing is that Eames has no way to fully figure himself out either; it’s hard keeping track of all the inner shapes and sizes he shows to the world. The characters he plays in cons are derived from some truth, but are always different in other ways. The forges he becomes in dreams are a whole other psychological trip all together.

Sometimes he needs to relearn himself, his true self, and finding his way back can be a rough journey. But Eames has been reliably informed that the masses of humanity face this problem too. That no one has any clue who they are. He might even be one of the only that knows the extent of what he can be, what he can become, what resides behind the limits of himself and his body.

Normal people grab onto freshly packaged identities, complete with fashion, preference and mannerisms. The conformity of popular culture and media in the west have turned many people into forgers themselves. Because what is forging if not being what other people want you to be?

Eames picks and chooses his own identities, tries them on and throws them away at whim. He has no limits. Which can be limiting, in a way.

People taking him with a grain of salt is normally a favorable thing. They underestimate him, and Eames likes to be underestimated. It makes for a nice working environment. He can slack off because people don’t have high expectations, but at the end of the day he gets the job done, and people are pleasantly surprised. He leaves with another nice check, having done the bare minimum of what he is able to do.

Eames likes to show off, but to a limit, an effort. He’s lucky that a low effort is still much higher that anyone else is able to get. His ‘natural’ forging talent had cost years of development, but now he can play it as if shrugging on a coat, as if it’s nothing. He likes to keep it that way. When people think it’s a born speciality instead of hard work, they won’t really try it themselves. Eames appreciates the relative monopoly this gives him.

The pointman follows the path of most, he’s just quicker about it. He takes one look at Eames, and during a five minute conversation Eames can see him pick a side.

The side chosen: this guy only spits out bullcrap.

It is fun, at first, to see how far he can spin it. The quips go from flirtatious to down-right filthy, something he never used to do with coworkers, but this stick-in-the-mud just _asks_ to be an exception to that rule. He calls him any endearment he can think of and sometimes even dares to touch – the latter turns out to be a mistake, according to his wrist.

Sexually annoying (harassing) people with guns and a lethal affliction is not the best decision he’s ever made, so Eames is on his toes for the duration of the job. He’s ready to jump up and away, to cut his loses favorably without a bullet in his leg.

But the guy – Arthur, last name redacted – virtually ignores him.

The only responses Eames is graced with are eye-rolls or raised brows, and maybe, if he’s lucky, sarcastic snark back. Everything Eames does seems to slide off him, the way water slides off oil, it just doesn’t stick, doesn’t interact. As if the suits form a force field around him, protection from Eamesian shenanigans, invisible and invincible.

The only thing he seems to be honestly annoyed with is Eames’ work ethic, and Eames doesn’t even do that to frustrate him on purpose. He just doesn’t work with tight schedules and detailed plans, his ideas come in flurries of information, a click within his brain around 5 am.

They don’t match at first, so they clash. A lot. Eames apologizes with coffee and charming smiles. Why he feels he needs to, wants to, he doesn’t know. Somewhere they find a middleground, fall into a rhythm with coffee in the morning and brainstorms in the evening.

Somewhere, Eames realises that his efforts to get this guy into bed with him turn serious, as do the requests for a drink together, a date, a vacation, a relationship. Eames realises that almost everything he says to Arthur is the truth, is something he actually, seriously, means.

The endearments are not necessary anymore; they’ve never bothered Arthur, which was their original purpose, but Eames can’t stop saying them anyway. Arthur has turned into his darling within one damn job; within three fucking months.

Eames has never fallen this fast, this certain.

And the ironic thing is, Arthur doesn’t believe any of it.

**Author's Note:**

> I wanted to thank Autumn, Elizabeth and Nonnie for the read overs and the ideas they had for continuation. I really appreciate the ideas and who knows, maybe once upon a time this fic will finally accept another chapter! 
> 
> Until then, if ever, I hope this little thing is enjoyable by itself :D


End file.
